Ordinances: Various laws that can be enacted/repealed at anytime. Some give you money ("Legalized Gambling" allows gambling, however, all casinos have to pay you), others take money. They also have different effects on your population, and will make some happy and others mad.

Population: How many Sims are in a city

Simoleans: Your money. You spend this whenever you do something.

Taxes: Simoleans taken from your Sims on a yearly basis to replenish your City's Simoleans

Transportation: A tile that allows Sims to get from one place to another. They are obviously connected to each other. People will only build a certain amount of Tiles from a transportation tile.

Tile: The basic unit of measure in SimCity. Also refers to the isometric "squares" in the game.

Zone: This is where Sims will build. The three main types are Residential, Commercial, and Industrial. Each Zone has different effects: placing Dense Industrial next to a Light Residential will probably get some Sims angry about the intense dust.